Article

OBJECTIVE: To investigate if olfaction is associated with affect recognition and
empathy deficits after traumatic brain injury (TBI).
Prior research has shown
that TBI often leads to loss of smell. We hypothesized a relationship with
emotion perception, because the neural substrates of the olfactory system overlap
with the ventral circuitry of the orbital frontal cortex, which play a critical
role in affective responses, such as empathy. DESIGN: Comparative study
investigating differences between participants with TBI who had impaired
olfaction (dysosmia) with those with normal olfaction (normosmia). SETTING:
Postacute rehabilitation facilities in the United States, Canada, and New
Zealand. PARTICIPANTS: Participants (N=106) in the current study were a
convenience sample of adults with moderate to severe TBI who were tested for
olfactory function as part of a larger, related study on affect recognition. On
average, participants were 11.5 years postinjury. INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Olfaction (Brief Smell Identification Test), facial affect
recognition (Diagnostic Assessment of Nonverbal Affect 2-Adult Faces
[DANVA2-AF]), vocal affect recognition (Diagnostic Assessment of Nonverbal Affect
2-Adult Paralanguage [DANVA2-AP]), emotional inference (Emotional Inference from
Stories Test [EIST]), and empathy (Interpersonal Reactivity Index [IRI]).
RESULTS: Fifty-six percent of participants were dysosmic and only 36% of these
participants were aware of their deficit. Participants with dysosmia performed
significantly poorer on the DANVA2-AF (P=.003), DANVA2-AP (P=.007), EIST
(P=.016), and IRI (P=.013). Medium effect sizes were found for all measures.
Dysosmia had a sensitivity value of 86.4% for detecting facial affect recognition
impairments and 67.8% for vocal affect recognition impairments. CONCLUSIONS: This
study shows that olfactory deficits may be indicative of affect recognition
impairments and reduced empathy. Early knowledge of affect recognition and
empathy deficits would be valuable so that treatment could be implemented
predischarge.
CI - Copyright (c) 2012 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by
Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Langue : ANGLAIS